Rescueee Meeeeee

[Diggy415]

Ok here i was on the phone with a gal that stated she had a rosy boa and needed some pinkies as they haven't been able to feed it in 4-5 months, so i show up and was shocked at it's condition, in the end i got the snake and told them i can try to rehab it, but don't know if it will survive, but it's lip is curled under and really dry, i read they are burrowers and like it dry but this one also has layers of shed i noticed that needs to come off, so im soaking it in a shallow container of water and it drank, also drank from a syringe with out the needle, so it was thirsty as well, it's still a young one so don't know if it will eat or if force feeding might be the step to go, glad i have ton of mice pinkies...will let you know it's progress, until then here is it's pic's. Will take any suggestions, as i have 11 other snakes but these are new to me and any ideas that might help get it looking better etc will be accepted.
When i first got it home:

 

[clam1991]

looks horrible

but im no expert and have no experience but id start with a big enough water dish so it can soak and deff get a drink

 

[skippy]

doesn't look good but you're off to a good start:clap: good luck to you both!

 

[OldHag]

I have a Kenyan sand boa (anerytheristic) that tends to get that shedding problem. Ive found if I put a butter tub with a hole in the side filled with moist paper towel he goes in there and crawls around through the toweling and it helps him shed easier. Helps keep him hydrated. Dont have that problem with any of my other boas.. just him.
That snake DOES need to be put in a moist warm place for a while to loosen that skin, I would even leave it in a tub with moist towels overnight see if it doesnt get the skin off.
The mouth doesnt look good at all.. Maybe mouth rot? Baytril time?
Dont.. give... it... back.. to.....them...

 

[Diggy415]

it's now in a larger tub with a shallow thing of water and paper towels, i won't try to feed it for more days, until it feels better, and I won't give it back.

 

[arachyd]

Awww, the poor thing. It makes me want to cry and then kick something. How on earth can a person say they didn't feed something for 4-5 months because they didn't have pinkie mice?!!! The skin is just hanging loose on the snake. I've never seen one so thin. That is utterly inexcusable and they deserve to be charged with extreme neglect and cruelty of an animal. Good luck taking care of it. I hope it recovers completely in your care and thank you for taking it in.

 

[xchondrox]

This is what i'd recommend:

Let it sit somewhere warm and moist with deep enough water to drink for a day or two to see if you can get that skin to lossen up. Im gonna bet that youll end up assit shedding that guy. But if it can get the shed off by itself all the better.

After you do get the stuck shed off make sure to put it back into a deli with enought water to drink for another day. Sometimes the skin underneath of severely stuck sheds will be kind of leathery and youll need to keep him hydrated because of that.

Then deal with the mouth rot after the skin. You dont want to over stress him. Once he is rehydrated his immune system should be able to fight the bacteria in his mouth with alittle help from you. Minor mouth rot like that should not have to require injections or any antibiotics. In my opinion baytril is way over prescribed by vets, Its only affective against certain types of bacterial strains, and without your vet doing a bacterial culture you can give it all the baytril you want and it wont help at all. Like my vet told me to do years ago and ended up burning out a pair of my baby Sanzinias liver/kidneys:evil:

So ya be careful when it comes to that!

What I would and have done in the past is try a 50/50 solution of hydrogenperoxide/water. Just make a shot glass full, get some q-tips, I rolled the ends so there not so fuzzy. Pry the snakes mouth open, dip the q-tips in the solution then roll the q-tip with the snakes teeth from nose to hinge trying to get most of the cheesy junk out. Might have to peel some out by the lips. Do that for the first 2 or 3 days once a day then every other day until its gone.

You just dont want the snake drinking that stuff so dont pour it in its mouth or dunk its head in or something

Then you deal with the feeding issue after a week or so,

Hope this helps good luck
PM me if you need me to clarify something,
Corey

 

[Matt K]

It should be lightly rubbed with glycerin (from the pharmacy) and soaked for one hour twice a day. The mouth deformation is probably due to a secondary fungal infection. Applying any medication with potassium in it via Q-tip will help with that, and after that apply a little Betadine.

You could house it in a rubbermaid shoebox half fullof moist sphagnum moss and keep warm.

Insteadof water try getting her to drink room temp Gatorade.

Just my 2 cents from rehabing many reptiles....

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

As for the mouth thing, don't trust the internet. I'm not saying the people here aren't knowledgeablle, but the only way to really find out what is wrong with that thing's mouth is get it to a vet ASAP.

I've worked with many snakes over the years, rosies included. I've had my share of shedding problems, though(never with the rosies). Here's my advice for the skin. Leave it in a container of shallow, warm water overnight with some very rough objects for it to rub against. That should get a great deal of old skin off. The most important part to worry about is the eyecaps. You MUST make sure they come off. IDK how long it's been in that condition but if the caps stay on too long, they can damage the eyes. Also, don't feed the boa if it's drinking massive amounts of water. letting it drink a bunch of water and then feeding will make it throw up.

Oh yea, if the skin doesn't come off in the tub completely, get a towel and get a firm grip on the snake's sides. The snake will struggle and try to crawl out, and many patches of old skin should catch on the towel as it does this.

Find out about the snake's history in it's old home. Find out how long it's been in the condition it's been in. It's very possible that they may be experiencing their first shed difficulty. As or the feeding, maybe they've been allowing the snake to hibernate? Though if the reason really was "We've been unable to afford mice" seems like that is not the case.

Good luck with this little rosie! They are awesome snakes.

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

Awww, the poor thing. It makes me want to cry and then kick something. How on earth can a person say they didn't feed something for 4-5 months because they didn't have pinkie mice?!!! The skin is just hanging loose on the snake. I've never seen one so thin. That is utterly inexcusable and they deserve to be charged with extreme neglect and cruelty of an animal. Good luck taking care of it. I hope it recovers completely in your care and thank you for taking it in.

I would say the skin is scrunched up moreso because it's bigger and it has to stretch out. From what I can see the snake seems fine as no bones are visible, but this is just by looking. I'd get it to a vet and get it weighed too and find out from him or her if it's obese/scrawny

 

[LeilaNami]

I would like to say mouth rot is not bacterial 100%. It can also be caused by fungus that leads to secondary bacterial infections. Bring it to the vet and get a culture done to determine what kind of mouth rot it is.

 

[Diggy415]

Well this morning it was already shedding so i helped it along, there is an indintation on it's nose and i place some antibacterial cream on it(white) but this is what this sweety is suppose to look like, say how old do you think this one is, it's just a baby right? Is this the size they are born as? Thanks for all the tips, it is still quite plump, no bones showing, just looked worse than it really was. :}

 

[kupo969]

Looks like a yearling, maybe a little older. GL with the rehab, it looks great with it's old skin gone.

 

[DrJ]

Now that the old skin is finally off, how is the lip doing?

And, how is his/her activity level?

 

[Boanerges]

Looks better with the skin off!!! I would say your off to an excellent start!!! Kudos to you for helping her :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Diggy415]

the mouth, can't tell anythings wrong with it at all, i didn't open it up, but hard to say the activity level, i place it on my hand and it slithers around, will grip my finger and is curious, just chills. Cute little bugger it is. Say can you run your finger over the vent to check for hemipenes like other boas>? those are easy to sex. Will try a small pinky tomorrow and see what it does. Looking at the mouth from the outside is looking all normal now. Think i came just in time.

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

the mouth, can't tell anythings wrong with it at all, i didn't open it up, but hard to say the activity level, i place it on my hand and it slithers around, will grip my finger and is curious, just chills. Cute little bugger it is. Say can you run your finger over the vent to check for hemipenes like other boas>? those are easy to sex. Will try a small pinky tomorrow and see what it does. Looking at the mouth from the outside is looking all normal now. Think i came just in time.

Look at the spurs by the cloaca. If you struggle to see them, it's a female. If they're big and easy to spot, it's a male.

 

[Diggy415]

Well it's a female and i checked it's mouth nothing wrong, gums are nice colored, must of just been dried out due to lip curling in and another surprise......

 

[JohnEDove]

The first photos looked so bad primarily due to the severe dehydration. Secondarily because of the shed. You have taken care of both at this point.
You have saved a beautiful animal.

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

Well gee didn't we overrect a TEENY TINY bit